Saturday, March 30, 2013

I'm happy that cough and cold are gone and will not hinder me to enjoy the Easter weekend. The weather is still winter like which I try to ignore by consuming mugs of tea and reading books. But there are other news which I'm not happy about. I will talk about it within the post.
As the day travel along and I write line after line, the postman delivered a book, I received an E-ARC and downloaded the first part of a serialized novel for free. These are my Easter eggs. Of course I have to add these books to this post which is getting longer and longer ....

Nevertheless I wish you and your dear and near ones a HAPPY EASTER!

ENJOY READING ....

Edi's Guidepost

The
Lighthouse
News and information straight from
the horse's mouth by
Lighthouse keeper ediFanoB

"Unique talent always attracts attention…
In a world where magic is outlawed, ability with a sword is prized above all else. For Soren this means the chance to live out his dreams.
Plucked from a life of privation, he is given a coveted place at Ostenheim’s Academy of Swordsmanship, an opportunity beyond belief.
Opportunity is not always what it seems however, and gifts rarely come without conditions. Soren becomes an unwitting pawn in a game of intrigue and treachery that could cost him not just his dreams, but also his life." [Source]

I know this is crazy but when I read the review request from I could not resist. So far it is not my novel of the year but an enjoyable read which is not bad for a fantasy debut novel. With chapter 21 which I finished before I started to writ this post the story turns into a new direction and I'm curious to see where it will end.

To get a first impression of the story and the style of the author you may read an excerpt which you will find here.

Enjoy your weekend ....

Books

Dear readers, I'm the one to tell you
about books - only books?
What about novellas and other
stuff? My name is Bona.
I scour shelves, shops
and the net for books. If you call
me a book whore I
would not gainsay you. But be aware I
have my own, sometimes elusive
taste.

I must confess I can't stop buying books. Following five digital copies (one is an omnibus containing three books) found a new home on my reader which has a lot of free space since I bought an 8 GB microSD card.

Let me start with the Bryant and May Mystery series by Christopher Fowler. There is an excellent article about the series by the author himself which I recommend to read if you are interested in the books.
So far I read and enjoyed the first two books. Now I bought a digital copy of The Victoria Vanishes (digital 2010) [Amazon Kindle ASIN:B003M5IKQG] by Christopher Fowler which is the sixth book in the Bryant and May Mystery
series. The good thing is that is still writing new books and I want them all.

"One night, Arthur Bryant witnesses a drunk middle-aged lady coming out of a pub in a London backstreet. The next morning, she is found dead at the exact spot where their paths crossed. Even more disturbing, there's a twist: the pub has vanished and the street itself has changed. Bryant is convinced that he saw them as they looked over a century before, but the elderly detective has already lost the funeral urn of an old friend. Could he be losing his mind as well?Then it becomes clear that a number of women have met their ends in London pubs. It seems a silent, secret killer is at work, striking in full view...and yet nobody has a clue how, or why - or where he'll attack next. The likeliest suspect seems to be a mental patient with a reason for killing. But knowing who the killer is and catching him are two very different propositions. As their new team at the Peculiar Crimes Unit goes in search of a madman, the octogenarian detectives ready themselves for the pub crawl of a lifetime, and come face to face with their own mortality..." [Source]

Recently I combed through Fantastic Fiction in search of books about London in the 19th century. I love this town and I like this period of time. I would like to time travel there but after all I know about this period, I do not want to live then and there.

After a while I discovered two series which aroused my interest. They have nothing to do with steampunk or historical fiction. Both are related to crime and mystery.

The series Denton by Kenneth Cameron is set in 1900s London and the main protagonist is the American novelist Denton which is not the usual hero. The Denton Novels (digital 2012) [Amazon Kindle ASIN:B00AES03LO] by Kenneth Cameron is an omnibus which contains the first three novels. I deliver the description and the cover of each book.

"Introducing an intriguing new hero in the world of crime fiction...American novelist Denton is an uncomfortable outsider in class-ridden turn-of-the-century England." [Source]

"In The Frightened Man American novelist Denton is about to be plunged into the dark heart of a society where privilege and propriety hide unspeakable horrors. When a stranger turns up at his door declaring he has just seen Jack the Ripper, Denton dismisses his lurid ravings as the delusions of a madman. But then a prostitute's horribly mutilated body is discovered that night - and Denton suspects the two events are connected. While the police investigation grinds towards a seemingly pre-ordained conclusion, Denton becomes obsessed with finding out who the victim really was and who killed her - a search that leads him by degrees into the darkest, most violent underbelly of London." [Source]

"In The Bohemian Girl, Denton receives a strange letter which demands his attention: a note from a young woman, Mary, saying she's in terrible danger and needs his help. The letter is months old, and was only forwarded to him when the buyer of a painting found it stuck behind the frame. Presumably whatever Mary was frightened of has already happened. So why did she hide the note behind this particular painting, instead of sending it? The search for answers leads Denton into the heart of Bohemian London - a world of brilliance and depravity, of unconventional morals and shifting sexual identities, where the border between genius and madness is hard to discern but easy to cross." [Source]

"In The Second Woman, Denton is drawn into a complex web of murder and revenge when a mysterious Polish woman is found dead in the house adjoining his - the one occupied by his lover, Janet Stryker - and while the police remain baffled, he begins to suspect she is the victim of some sort of political conspiracy. But involving himself in the life and death of Lydia Alken will prove more dangerous than he could have imagined, as Denton himself falls victim to the fledgling British Intelligence Service and discovers exactly what the price of freedom really is, while the real story of Lydia Alken's murder provides the biggest shock of all." [Source]

London in the 1840s is the stage of the Albert Newsome series by James McCreet. Before I go into details I must praise the author's site. delivers a lot of information in general and in detail for each book. To give you a first glimpse let me quote the author's introduction to his books:

"In the beginning was the word . . .
“Detective” was just an adjective until the 1840s. Only with the birth of the Metropolitan Police’s Detective Force in 1842 did newspapers begin to give those intrepid men the noun they deserved and help to create the enduring figure of the literary investigator.My London books focus on an ensemble cast comprising police detective Inspector Newsome, ex-detective George Williamson, would-be detective John Cullen, and a shady pair known as Noah Dyson and Benjamin. In each story, they invariably compete against each other on cases that sometimes seem to be more about who is the best detective rather than who committed the crime.In all of the books, I aim to evoke the very origins of the genre - a time when forensic science was in its infancy, when photography was a scientific oddity, when parts of the city were ‘no-go’ zones and when the only tool a detective had was his own keen intelligence. Welcome to Victorian London . . ." [Source]

After reading these words I got the feeling that I found something I will like and with the following part of an interview I have been finally hooked:

"The language of your books is quite distinctive. Readers might have to go to the dictionary a few times . . .
Part of the immersion in a story is a certain degree of unfamiliarity. If you were dropped into the 1840s, there would be words and concepts that would seem initially alien. That’s why I use a few obsolete words, why I use some contemporary spellings and why I ‘censor’ expletives or blasphemies. This was the reality of Victorian prose and I hope it brings the period to life. Also, I’m a reader who likes to be occasionally surprised by language. In an age of texts and tweets, we’re in danger of losing the rich vocabulary of English. An unknown word, to me, is a gem in the text. It adds colour and texture, whether or not I look it up." [Source]

Now let me give you some information about the books I bought and I hope to read them soon. As far as I read on the site there is character development and there will be also new characters.

"Murder is rampant in Early Victorian London. Detective Inspector Newsome of the new Detective Force decides to recruit a recently-apprehended master criminal to help bring the culprits to justice. A polymath with a mysterious past, the man is no eager volunteer. And when the ghastly murder of conjoined twins galvanizes the city, Newsome blackmails his prisoner - Noah Dyson, as he calls himself - into working with the Force's finest: Sergeant George Williamson. Unknown to the policemen, the criminal genius behind the murder shares a dark past with their new associate. It is not justice that is on Dyson's mind, but retribution. As Williamson and Dyson together close the net, the murder-rate soars and the streets of London begin to burn. Ingeniously plotted and seething with grotesque characters, James McCreet's striking debut will grip readers from its first dark pages." [Source]

"In Victorian London, gruesome events are afoot. Some are asking why the Detective Force's Inspector Albert Newsome is investigating the curious but - apparently - insignificant death that occurred in Holywell Street. What seemed like a common enough incident is complicated when the Inspector discovers his ex-colleague (and master detective) George Williamson is also pursuing the case, as well as a sinister former criminal named Noah Dyson. Then the questions begin to multiply: why are prostitutes being poisoned? Who is exerting pressure on the Commissioner of police? And who, or what, is 'Persephone'? From the gutter to the drawing rooms of St James, the two detectives choose their allies and plunge into the underworld of Victorian London, where nothing is quite as it seems and the razor's flash waits around every corner." [Source]

"A death on Waterloo bridge, a body in the river near Wapping, a lady robbed on Wych Street - all common enough daily incidents in early Victorian London. But when an outrageous theft is committed at the port, the clues from these seemingly unconnected crimes soon point irresistibly to a mystery deeper and murkier than the Thames itself. The rapacious Inspector Newsome has much to prove, ex-police detective George Williamson faces difficult choices, and the mysterious Noah Dyson is once more drawn unwillingly within the reach of the authorities. Meanwhile, competing against them all, there is the enigmatic figure calling himself Eldritch Batchem ...Lives and reputations are at stake. As the investigators pursue a macabre trail into the city's darkest passages, each seeks a prize more personal than mere justice. And in the race for a solution, all stand to discover much more than they are prepared for ..."The Thieves' Labyrinth" is a dazzling Victorian entertainment - a gripping, richly atmospheric murder mystery." [Source]

There is a fourth book available. Be sure that The Masked Adversary is on my list.If you want to know more about the content of the book I recommend to read the excellent information on the author's site. As far as I could see there a slight spoiler regarding the appearance of characters. I think this is normal when it comes to the fourth book in a series.

Last year I tried to read The Jackal of Nar (mmpp, US, 2000)[ISBN-13: 978-0553578874] by John Marco and stopped after 308 pages because I felt separated from the characters. I added a comment on GOODREADS. To keep the story short. Author contacted me and asked me to give his next book a try.
Today I received a signed ARC of The Forever Knight (hc, US, 2nd of April 2013)[ISBN-13: 978-0756407513] by John Marco a. You may say that is nothing unusual and in most cases I would agree. But John lives in USA and I live in Germany and he paid the postage!!!
Of course I will give The Forever Knight a try and whatever will be the result I will post about it on this blog.

This is the cover and the description of The Forever Knight.

"Lukien is the Bronze Knight, beloved by his kingdom and renowned in battle throughout his world. After betraying his king and losing his beloved, he wishes only for death, but rather than die, Lukien is given a chance for redemption: to be the protector of the Inhumans—those fragile mortals who live deep in the desert, far from the prying eyes of their world. These remarkable individuals have been granted magical powers in exchange for the hardships and handicaps life has handed them. And Lukien, now immortal himself, must be their champion. But how can one man, even an immortal warrior, protect hundreds from a world of potential enemies?" [Source]

The book will be released directly after Easter. In order to celebrate the release you can read and exclusive excerpt and take part in a Kindle contest over at Litererary Escapism. This is the official link:

In December 2012 I told you that I came in contact with author Michael J. Martinez and that he added me to the reviewer list for his book
The Daedalus Incident (pb, 7th of May 2013) [ISBN-13: 978-1597804721].
Today I received my electronic review copy! Fingers crossed that I stay healthy because I have a lot to read and review in April 2013 and one of the books will be the The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez.

"Mars is supposed to be dead…a fact Lt. Shaila Jain of the Joint Space Command is beginning to doubt in a bad way.Freak quakes are rumbling over the long-dormant tectonic plates
of the planet, disrupting its lucrative mining operations and driving
scientists past the edges of theory and reason. However, when rocks
shake off their ancient dust and begin to roll—seemingly of their own
volition—carving canals as they converge to form a towering structure
amid the ruddy terrain, Lt. Jain and her JSC team realize that their
routine geological survey of a Martian cave system is anything but. The
only clues they have stem from the emissions of a mysterious blue
radiation — and, inexplicably, a 300-year-old journal.Lt. Thomas Weatherby of His Majesty’s Royal Navy is an honest
18th-century man of modest beginnings, doing his part for King and
Country aboard HMS Daedalus, a frigate sailing the high seas between
continents…and the immense Void between the Known Worlds. Across the
Solar System and among its colonies—rife with plunder and alien slave
trade—through dire battles fraught with strange alchemy, nothing much
can shake his resolve. But events are transpiring to change all that.With the aid of his fierce captain, a drug-addled alchemist, and a
servant girl with a remarkable past, Weatherby must track a great and
powerful mystic, who has embarked upon a sinister quest to upset the
balance of the planets—the consequences of which may reach far beyond
the Solar System, threatening the very fabric of space itself.Set sail among the stars with this uncanny tale, where adventure awaits, and dimensions collide!" [Source]

Author Mark Lord is currently writing a new novel set in the Hundred Years War called Stonehearted.
As he is more than happy with the writing progress, Mark Lord decided to publish the whole book in form of a serialized novel. That means every one or two months a new part will be available.

By The Sword's Edge is the first part of Stonehearted and for a certain period of time you can get it for free over atSmashwords!This link provide more information about where you can get the novel.

"In By The Sword’s Edge two young people are thrust into the harsh realities of war. Richard Stone is a knight in training and son of a rich Norfolk merchant. Their neighbours are the d’Aubrays, who hold Sarbrook castle, but have sold or rent much of their land since falling into poverty. The lord of Sarbrook is missing in France, captured many years ago and not returned despite the payment of ransom. His daughter, Eolande d’Aubray is desperate for her father to return. Only he, it seems, can save her from the prospect of an unwanted marriage." [Source]

So if you are interested in historical fiction in from of a serialized novel this is an opportunity for you.

Once a while it happens that I discover a cover and know within a second that I must have a copy of this specific book. This is the cover which I like so much. It promise a lot.

Promise of Blood (hc, April 2013)[ISBN-13: 978-0356501994] by Brian McClellan is the first book in the Powder Mage Trilogy.

"The Age of Kings is dead . . . and I have killed it.

It's a bloody business overthrowing a king...
Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.It's up to a few...
Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.

But when gods are involved...
Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should..." [Source]

Hey,
I'm Bona Fide. I just
came back from my last foray through the
blogosphere. What can you
expect from me? I tell you: Everything
from Art to Fart as long as there
is any faint connection to books. And
here is some honey from the
beehive blogosphere...

This is no April Fool as the official press release above confirms. Additionally I give you the link to the statement of GOODREADS co-founder Otis Chandler. This is the second book community after Shelfari to be part of Amazon.
I really liked GOODREADS so far. A great place to organise and discuss books independant from book seller. Amazon does not buy things like GOODREADS without expecting benefit.
Things will definitely change and the changes are on the run. Have a look atA first sign of Amazon-Goodreads deal [screenshots]
over at EBOOK FRIENDLY.
Don't get me wrong. I buy books from Amazon because Amazon is a good source for books in English in Germany. But where I buy my books and where I talk about books are two different things.
Now I have to think about what I will do. Leave GOODREADS or stay.

Do you know the Green Fairy? I admit that I read about it but never tasted it. If you would like to get more information about the Green Fairy I recommend to read following post over at Dark Roasted Blend:

Alex J. Cavanaugh is an excellent author and a fantastic and kind blogger.
There is now way out. I need to share his latest news regarding CassaStorM.

"My publisher has agreed to give out two
copies of CassaStorm to two lucky commenters next month [April]. US and Canada
will receive print books and overseas will receive eBooks. One comment
per day. Each comment is one entry except – the first and one hundredth
comments on each day will receive ten entries!" [Source]

MoviesHey, it's me Fide.
I'm a remote control professional.
I'm that fast that I can
watch two movies at the same time.

But don't worry. All the stuff I
present to you will be shown
at normal speed.

Season three of the amazing A Game of Thrones TV adaption is ahead. That means people like me have to wait a year until it will be aired on German TV. A few weeks ago we recorded season two which has been aired on thre consecutive evenings. To be honest I do not belong to the people who spend four hours in a row in front of a TV screen. Of course the season has been synchronised in German. That is what they do with all the English stuff. But in this case the made a great mistake from my point of view: They translated all the names!! I hate it and it is confusing!
Anyway I still like the intro of season one and the slightly changed intro of season two. Now I'm really curious to see the intro of season three.
I can't resist and post both trailers.

Season one opening

Season two opening

That's all for today. See you next
time....

QuotesI
'm the Keeper of
the minutes. But I don't mind when
you call me Kotm. No, no. I
don't explain to you how to pronounce.